The present invention relates to emollient compositions for use in cosmetic, personal care and pharmaceutical preparations and more particularly to such emollient compositions partially comprising polyethylene, petrolatum, and octyl palmitate in a generally solid spherical form (beads) and processes for their preparation.
Emollients tend to be bland, fatty, oleaginous substances which may be applied locally to the skin, mucous membranes, or abraded tissue. One of the benefits of emollients is their ability to exclude water-soluble irritants, air, and air-borne bacteria when a layer of emollient is present. At the present, there are numerous ingredients which function as emollients in a wide variety of products, and which ingredients may act in subtly different ways. For example, certain emollients sit on the surface of the skin and serve to impede water loss from the skin. Such ingredients are generally comprised of large molecules that form a hydrophobic barrier to help prevent water from leaving the surface of the kin. Examples of such emollients are lanolin, mineral oil, silicon derivatives and petroleum jelly.
A chief use of emollients is to provide vehicles for lipid-soluble drugs (as in balms, ointments and alcohol-based liniments). Although it has often been suggested that such emollient vehicles facilitate the transport of such drugs through the skin, it has been found that when the oil:water partition coefficient is greater that 1.0, the penetration of lipid-soluble drugs tends to be impeded. Emollient substances are commonly employed in cleansing and antiphlogistic creams and lotions. Compound ointment bases, creams, and other medical applications are also general areas of use for emollients. Amongst the more common emollient materials are castor oil, corn oil, cottonseed oil, rose water ointment, apricot kernel oil, avocado oil, grape seed oil, hazelnut oil, olive oil, sesame oil, theobroma oil, almond oil, myristyl alcohol, and recently other natural oils such as jojoba oil.
Fatty alcohols are also used as emollients. They are said to be less sticky and less heavy that many other fatty materials, such as the fatty acids, and are frequently used to improve the viscosity and stability of lotions and creams. They also have utility in reactive hair dying and perming products. Examples of fatty alcohols that find use in the field of cosmetics and personal care products are cetyl alcohol, lauryl alcohol, stearyl alcohol and oleyl alcohol.
Additional examples of emollients are fatty esters. One of the best qualities of fatty esters is that they do not feel as oily to the touch as some other types of emollient fatty ingredients. Examples include isopropyl palmitate, isopropyl myristate and glyceryl stearate.
An important emollient is jojoba oil that is derived from the seed of the species Simmondsia chinensis. Jojoba oil is seed oil with excellent skin feel. The oil is composed almost exclusively of wax esters, with little or no triglycerides present. A major portion of the production of jojoba oil is used by the cosmetic industry as an emollient in a variety of products.
One of the problems with typical emollients is that the emollient itself provides a wet or oily feel to the applied areas. This can lead to an uncomfortable feeling or appearance to the user, which is very important in the cosmetic and pharmacological industry. An additive for cosmetic, personal car and topical treatment (medicament) products has been marketed under the name of xe2x80x9cConfettixe2x80x9d(trademark) AL with allantoin, and ConfettiT(trademark) EA, MT, PA, RG and SG (identifying the color of the material). This material is advertised as decorative microcapsules that contribute beneficial moisturizing and delivery of alcohol soluble ingredients to the skin. Confetti is advertised as having a good balance of structural integrity and rub-in characteristics, rubbing into the skin completely without any extra pressure. The Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) on ConfettiT(trademark) products identifies them as containing a natural oil (e.g., coconut oil, tocopheryl acetate, retinyl palmitate), propylene glycol, synthetic beeswax, petrolatum, allantoin, PVM/MA Decadiene crosspolymer and benzophenone, as well as pigments and/or dyes.
The present invention describes a very effective emollient composition for use in personal care, cosmetic and pharmaceutical products and a novel method of producing that composition. The composition is essentially solid at room temperature and can be provided in various shapes and sizes (especially as spheres). The composition can be produced from a combination of polyethylene, petrolatum and octyl palmitate. Tints, fragrances and various other additives may be added to the composition to provide additional functionality and benefits.
The emollient compositions according to the present invention preserve an excellent skin feel and also increase the range of applications for cosmetic compositions by providing an emollient with a novel composition. Furthermore, when provided in a solid feel form, such as spherical particles, the emollient composition of the present invention can provide a noticeable scrubbing or dermal abrasive action. The emollient compositions of the present invention comprise polyethylene, petrolatum and octyl palmitate as described herein. Preferably the amount of the polyethylene will be from about 5-30% by weight of the composition, the amount of the petrolatum will be from about 0-60% by weight of the composition, and the amount of the octyl palmitate will be from 0-85% by weight of the composition, with any balance being the pigment or other additives. An especially preferred emollient composition will be as follows:
Other emollients may be blended, mixed or dissolved with the basic emollient compositions described above.
The novel features that are considered characteristic of the invention are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, both as to its structure and its operation together with the additional object and advantages thereof will best be understood from the following description of the preferred embodiment of the present invention. Unless specifically noted, it is intended that the words and phrases in the specification and claims be given the ordinary and accustomed meaning to those of ordinary skill in the applicable art or arts. If any other meaning is intended, the specification will specifically state that a special meaning is being applied to a word or phrase. Likewise, the use of the words xe2x80x9cfunctionxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9cmeansxe2x80x9d in the Description of Preferred Embodiments is not intended to indicate a desire to invoke the special provision of 35 U.S.C. xc2xa7112, paragraph 6 to define the invention. To the contrary, if the provisions of 35 U.S.C. xc2xa7112, paragraph 6, are sought to be invoked to define the invention(s), the claims will specifically state the phrases xe2x80x9cmeans forxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9cstep forxe2x80x9d and a function, without also reciting in such phrases any structure, material, or act in support of the function. Even when the claims recite a xe2x80x9cmeans forxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9cstep forxe2x80x9d performing a function, if they also recite any structure, material or acts in support of that means of step, then the intention is not to invoke the provisions of 35 U.S.C. xc2xa7112, paragraph 6. Moreover, even if the provisions of 35 U.S.C. xc2xa7112, paragraph 6, are invoked to define the inventions, it is intended that the inventions not be limited only to the specific structure, material or acts that are described in the preferred embodiments, but in addition, include any and all structures, materials or acts that perform the claimed function, along with any and all known or later-developed equivalent structures, materials or acts for performing the claimed function.
The present invention describes a very effective emollient composition for use in personal care, cosmetic and pharmaceutical products that can be produced from a combination of polyethylene, petrolatum and octyl palmitate.
The emollient composition of the present invention comprises a family of emollients that have melting points that range from 30-80xc2x0 C. At room temperature (xcx9c20xc2x0 C.), this family of emollients varies from pourable liquids, to soft creams, to pasty waxes, to a brittle hard material. The composition of the emollient of the present invention may be blended with different melting point components within the family to form products with selected melting points and specific physical properties or feel. These compounds, whether used pure or when combined with other carrier and vehicle components (including other emollients or binders) can form excellent carrier and vehicles for delivery of compositions for use in the cosmetic, personal care and/or pharmaceutical field, including the cosmeceutical field where cosmetic compositions also provide pharmaceutical or other therapeutic benefits. Typical materials with which the compound may be blended in accordance with the practice of the present invention include, but are not limited to, cosmetic oils and waxes, both natural and synthetic, including hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils, silicon oils, mineral oils, long chain esters, vitamins (especially vitamin E), long chain fatty acids, alcohols, cosmeceuticals, pigments, botanical extracts, esters and ethers, dimers, trimers, oligomers, and polymers, and the like. These blended compositions may of course be combined with the active ingredients intended to be delivered by the composition used in the present invention.
The dry-feel compositions of the present invention may be applied to the skin as particulate materials, usually in a cosmetic, personal care, cosmeceutical or pharmaceutical composition. The processes of making the particles generally provides them as spherical or oblong particles, but they may be shaped by pressing, molding, spray drying, atomization or other stresses to provide shape particles, including platelets. The compositions have particular properties that renders them especially suitable for use in fragrance dispensing compositions and topical applications, and those properties include their spreadability, emolliency, non-volatility, lack of color and lack of odor. The lack of odor is mildly important in pharmaceutical applications, but is viewed as particularly essential in the provision of fragrances; Perfume and cosmetic providers have extremely rigid standards on non-essential odor contribution in their products.
By skillful blending, a composition may be prepared that melts at slightly below skin temperature. When formed into spherical particles and rubbed into the skin, these spherical particles disappear into the skin. Indeed they soften, melt and are absorbed into the surface of the skin where they deposit a layer of the fragrance. The polyethylene is non-volatile and forms an imperceptible film on the skin that slows down the release of the fragrance. These compositions, being low in odor and superior skin emollients, provide an excellent carrier and delivery system for fine fragrances.
Spheres formed from the present invention that contain fragrance or perfume can be incorporated into a larger variety of cosmetic and personal care products for the purpose of providing emolliency to the skin. At the same time, these fragrances bearing spheres serve to deliver fragrance oils to the skin. Traditional methods of fragrance delivery utilize fragrance oils incorporated in alcohol, typically ethyl alcohol. These traditional carriers of fragrance oils are, by definition Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC""s) that evaporate into the air after being applied to the skin. The present invention provides a method to deliver fragrance oils to the skin and minimize VOC emissions.
Polyethylene is an excellent carrier of fragrance oils, especially when combined with petrolatum and octyl palmitate. As fragrance oil carriers, they are not prone to the development of rancidity or other unpleasant odors, resulting in delivery of the fragrance compound to consumers in a form as near that created by the perfumer as possible. They physical form of the compound according to the present invention can be adjusted to accommodate any type of consumer product application desired. As an example, fragrance oils can be incorporated in liquid, pourable versions that at ambient temperatures can be used by a consumer in a manner similar to the traditional use of alcohol and fragrance oil blends. The compounds of the present invention containing fragrance oil can be formed into spheres and these spheres subsequently incorporated into cosmetic bases with a wide range of physical and chemical properties. In this spherical form (as a discontinuous phase or dispersed phase), the compounds serve to minimize the level of contact of the fragrance oil with the cosmetic base (as a continuous phase). This is a desirable effect when the fragrance oil contains components that are not compatible with the cosmetic base, or vice versa. The particles are usually present as a dispersion of the particles in a flowable continuous phase carrying medium that is not a solvent for said particles. By flowable, it is meant that the carrying medium may be a liquid, higher viscosity fluid (such as a gel) or other material that can be spread by manual pressure in application to the skin. The aspect of non-dissolvability of the particles within the carrying medium is desirable so that the particles do not dissolve into the carrying medium and destroy the dispersed nature of the combination. The combination may use a solvent carrier, if it is acceptable in the particular use to have the particles dissolved and carried as a solute.
The emollient compositions of the present invention comprise polyethylene, petrolatum and octyl palmitate as described herein. The emollient composition should have a minimum of at least about 5% by weight of the polyethylene, at least 0% by weight of the petrolatum, and at least 0% by weight of the octyl palmitate. Preferably the amount of the polyethylene will be from about 5-30% by weight of the composition, the amount of the petrolatum will be from about 0-60% by weight of the composition, and the amount of the octyl palmitate will be from 0-85% by weight of the composition, with any balance being the pigment or other additives. An especially preferred emollient composition will be as follows:
Other emollients may be blended, mixed or dissolved with the basic emollient compositions described above.
Individual compositions can be warmed to just above their melting point, a fragrance oil incorporated, and then the molten blend poured into a jar or other dispersing package where it will solidify upon cooling. The consistency of the blended product in the container can be adjusted to facilitate its application to the skin by use of the fingers or by a method of application using the packaging material.
Fragrance oils are normally compounded to exhibit a range of natural volatility. The compositions of the present invention function as xe2x80x9cfixativesxe2x80x9d that help control the premature release of volatile components of fragrance oils. The xe2x80x9cfixativexe2x80x9d function can be manipulated for optimum compatibility with different fragrance oils by skillful blending to produce different melting points. The compositions of the present invention are utilized as oxidatively stable carriers of fragrance oils and are capable of being modified or blended in different ratios to arrive at the optimum xe2x80x9cskin feelxe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9cfixativexe2x80x9d function that might be desired.
The term emollient carrier reflects the fact that the at least three materials described above form a component which may be mixed, blended dispersed, emulsified or dissolved with other materials, is itself an emollient, and may be a carrier for these other materials. Typical additional materials which may be combined with the emollient carrier of the invention may include, but are not limited to, additional emollients, oils, fragrances, pigments (e.g., inorganic pigments, organic pigments, dyes), medicaments (e.g., antimicrobial agents, antibacterial materials, antifungal materials, anti-inflammatory agents, transcutaneously administered drugs, etc.), emulsifying agents, stabilizing agents, binders, fillers, antiagglomerants (especially where powders are present in the emollient carrier, as with certain cosmetics), ultraviolet radiation absorbers (as in the formulation of sunblocks and sunscreens), insect repellants (e.g., DEET), pheromones, enzymes, barrier materials (e.g., resins to prevent contact with toxins such as plant irritants), and the like. These materials may be present in essentially any desired amount, but usually within the range of from 0.1% by weight of total composition up to 95% by weight of total composition, with 0.1 to 50% by weight preferred, and 0.5% to 25% by weight being more preferred.
A process for producing an emollient may comprise the steps of:
a) providing a composition comprising polyethylene,
b) adding a petrolatum, to said composition, and
c) adding octyl palmitate to produce an emollient.
In preparing the emollient composition, refined polyethylene is introduced into an appropriate vessel (capable of excluding air) equipped with stirring and means of heating and cooling. The amount of polyethylene used being from about 5% to about 30% by weight of the composition. The petrolatum is then added with the amount of petrolatum used being from about 0% to about 60% by weight of the composition. Finally, octyl palmitate is added with the amount of octyl palmitate used being from about 0% to about 50% by weight of the composition. The reactor is sealed and heat is applied to bring the temperature of the reaction mixture to about 70-75xc2x0 C. When the temperature has reached 70-75xc2x0 C., a first addition of additive or other active ingredient is made. The amount added ranges from about 0% to about 50% by weight of the emollient composition with about 0.3-25% being preferred. Heating is discontinued but no cooling is applied.
Following the previously described procedure, the following formulas detail examples of the preparation of different batches of emollient compositions.
This blend of the composition of the present invention and fragrance oils melts at approximately skin temperature and if desired, can be formed into small spheres for direct application to the skin or for incorporation in other cosmetic base formulas.
This blend is liquid at ambient temperature and can be applied to the skin in the manner of traditional perfumes.
This blend melts at just above skin temperature and is suitable for direct application to the skin or can first be formed into spheres for subsequent incorporation in other cosmetic bases.
This blend has the consistency of a non-flowing semi-solid paste. Application of stronger levels of fragrance that are long lasting on the skin are possible utilizing this carrier system.
This blend is a non-flowing semi-solid that is appropriate for direct application to the skin. A pigment has been added to increase the visual impact of the invention.
This blend includes a pigment selected for stability in high pH (greater than 8.0) aqueous cosmetic bases. This blend is suitable for formation into spheres and subsequent incorporation in cosmetic bases such as shower gels, facial creams, eye creams, body lotions, etc. The pigment has been selected for its compatibility with aqueous cosmetic bases.
Other compatible cosmetic ingredients may be added to any of the above formulas to achieve different melting points, flow characteristics, water resistance, and the like. Examples of other cosmetic ingredients that may be suitable for addition to the above formulas are beeswax, castor wax, carnauba wax, vegetable oils, partially hydrogenated vegetable oils, surfactants such as Tween 60(trademark) or Tween 80(trademark), silicone preparations, fatty alcohols, fatty acids and fatty acid esters, alpha and beta hydroxy acids, vitamins (such as vitamin E, vitamin E acetate, vitamin A palmitate, beta carotene, vitamin C, and the like), herbal extracts, alpha-bisabolol, conjugated linolenic acid (CLA), antioxidants such as tocopherols or mixed natural tocopherols, other antioxidants, such as BHA or BHT. Pigments may also be added to any of the above to create unique visual effects.